How To Disassemble a MP5 Airsoft Submachine Gun

The Heckler & Koch MP5 is an iconic submachine gun in the entertainment world. Almost everyone have seen it once in a movie. And it's natural choice for someone who is getting into airsoft. But it's disassembly is not the easiest compared to an airsoft M4. In this article, we show you how to disassemble the various parts of an airsoft MP5.

Shoulder Stock

The MP5 shoulder stock is the easiest component to remove on the gun. In fact, it's easier to remove than a M4 shoulder stock. There are various types of MP5 shoulder stocks. But the removal process are the same. In this article, we show you how to remove a collapsible shoulder stock, which is the hardest MP5 shoulder stock to remove. Therefore, you will be able to apply this procedure to any MP5 shoulder stock.

The photo above shows the MP5 collapsible shoulder stock. The only thing holding it onto the receiver is a pin. The pin is held in place by the flat-screw next to the sling mount. After you unscrew it, you can tap the pin (see photo below) out.

Next, pull the shoulder stock straight back to separate it from the MP5 receiver (see photo below). This is about as far as you have to go on any other MP5 shoulder stock. There are a few more steps for the collapsible version.

The collapsible shoulder stock guide(s) are held onto the receiver by a lock. You have to raise the guides slightly to clear the lock as you slide it out completely. The photo below shows the guide lock.

The following photo shows the guide lock components. The shinning metal component acts as a spring. The black plastic component is the lock.

Flash Suppressor and Iron Sight on Non-Silenced MP5

The photo below shows the front end of a non-silenced MP5 (i.e. JG M5-J). As you can see, the flash hider is practically glue sealed to the front end. Instead of literally breaking it off, you can actually remove it with the iron sight.

First, remove the sling mount. The sling mount nut is on the other side as shown in the photo below. A flat head screw driver will be able to remove unscrew it.

Next, use a hex wrench to loosen the hex set screw below the iron sight (see photo below).

Now, it's a matter of pulling the front end off the MP5. The photo below shows the flash hider and the iron sight removed as a unit.

Silencer, Iron Sight, and Hand Guard on Silenced MP5

The JG M5-S6 comes with an integrate mock silencer similar to the real steel H&K MP5SD3. In order to disassemble the rest of the gun, the mock silencer have to be removed. However, it is glued on. Therefore, the only way to remove it is to use a vise grip on it. The photo below shows the damage that will be done to the mock silencer when it is removed in this manner.

Twist it a quarter turn counter-clockwise and the mock silencer can be removed. The photo below shows the front iron sight and the inner barrel after the mock silencer is removed.

As you can see the inner barrel does not extend the full length of the mock silencer. It's another reason why you'd want to disassembly this gun; to put in a longer inner barrel.

After you've removed the front iron sight, you can remove the handguard structure. There are four screws on the left side of the gun (see photo below). Removing these four screws will allow you to remove the structure to get to the outer barrel.

Motor

The motor is installed in the handgrip. To remove the motor, simply unscrew the bottom plate from the handgrip. It's fasten by two Phillips screws (see photo below). Don't turn the middle flat-head screw; that is the motor engagement adjustment screw. The base plate is not symmetrical front to back. Therefore, you should mark the forward position with a Sharpie to save you same time putting it back.

After removing the base plate, you'll see the motor wired up to the gearbox (see photo below). Unhook the wires and remove the motor.

The MP5 has a long type motor (see photo below). It's plain vanilla with no marking on it.

Handgrip

Once the motor has been removed, you can remove the handgrip. There are two screws inside the hand grip that secures it to the gearbox (see photo below). Unscrew those two screws.

Then you have to remove the handgrip/receiver pin. It's right under the magazine release button. Use a flat head screwdriver to unscrew the pin. Then use a punch or hex wrench to push the pin out. The photo below shows the pin removed.

Now, you have to remove the two selector switches on the receiver to remove the handgrip. The selector switch on the left side has a tiny hex set screw (see photo below). You'll need a 1.3mm precision hex bit to remove it.

After loosening the set screw, pull the selector switch off. Then slide the selector switch on the right side of the receiver out as well.

When both selector switches are removes, you can remove the handgrip from the receiver. There is a small selector switch plate inside the handgrip. Be careful you don't lose it.

Receiver

The following photo shows the black metal gearbox exposed from the receiver. To take the receiver apart, you'll have to remove the screw just behind the magazine release catch. And then remove the screw toward the back of the receiver, normally under the shoulder stock attachment.

Then you'll have to remove the magazine release button and catch. Unscrew the small precision screw on the button (see photo below). Then remove the button and the catch.

Next, you'll need to remove the rear iron sight (see photo below). Unscrew the top screw. Then pull the rear iron sight off the receiver.

Note the windage adjustment screw in the photo below. Do not tight or loosen this screw. This adjustment screw does not affect the disassembly process.

After removing the rear iron sight, you can take the plastic receiver apart to reveal the gearbox and the hop-up unit (see photo below).

The hop-up unit is screwed onto the receiver. That also keep the gearbox from being removed. To remove them, you'll have to unscrew the two screws that are holding the hop-up unit in place (see photo below).

The following photo shows the version 2 gearbox that is inside the JG MP5.

Hop-Up Unit

The following photo shows the hop-up unit and the inner barrel removed from the receiver. In this section, we will separate these two parts.

But before we start disassembly, let's get familiar with the MP5 hop-up unit. Photo below shows the hop-up unit from the left side. The top layer is a slider the changes the hop-up.

The following photo shows the hop-up unit from the right side.

To remove the inner barrel, you'll have to remove the front plastic fastener that keeps the inner barrel in place. On this hop-up unit, it is tied down by two small screws (see photo below).

It's easier to remove the screws on the front plastic fastener if you remove the sliding hop-up adjuster. The photo below shows the adjuster slider removed.

Once you have unscrewed the two screws that fastens the plastic inner barrel fastener down, you can pry it off the hop-up (see photo below).

After doing all that, I found that JG has glued the inner barrel into the hop-up unit. That means you can't take the two apart and expect to re-use either of them. It's basically now one unit. So if you want to replace the inner barrel with a longer one, you'll have to buy a new hop-up unit and a new bucking as well.